Enclosure systems as in the type described herein are generally used in connection with large and/or small electrical switch board systems, and are commonly used to house a plurality of interior mounting boards and accessories for holding electrical components, etc. Such enclosures may or may not require environmental control therewithin, and are generally filled to maximum capacity with components.
It has become increasingly important in manufacturing such enclosures that the manufacturer be able to meet the changing demands of its customers, and provide an enclosure which is highly versatile, efficient to use, readily restructurable and capable of being modified as needed. It is also desirous to utilize the interior space of such enclosures as efficiently as possible, and to provide an interior which is substantially obstruction-free, since such enclosures are often filled to maximum capacity with sub-panel mounting boards and other assemblies.
Since the interiors of such electrical enclosures must frequently be accessed, it is desirous to manufacture an enclosure which is user friendly, and which provides the maximum number of user options for accessibility in the most efficient manner possible. From a manufacturing standpoint, it is desirous to provide the maximum number of benefits while maintaining ease and versatility in the construction thereof, at a minimum cost. It is with the above goals in mind that we have developed a highly versatile enclosure frame which provides a number of benefits over conventional enclosures.
Conventional electrical enclosures have historically been extremely cumbersome to work with because of the difficulty in accessing the interior thereof, which is caused by overcrowding the interior with electrical components, etc. Moreover, such conventional enclosures are difficult, if not impossible, to restructure or modify because, in order to do so, one must access its interior to disassemble the outer wall panels. In order to access the interior, electrical components and sub-panels within the conventional enclosure must generally be removed. Only then can one access the interior connections for the outer wall panels. Such sub-panels are frequently heavy and bulky, making them difficult to maneuver or remove. As a consequence, restructuring a conventional enclosure to meet the demands of a customer becomes a tedious task which requires a substantial amount of time and labor.
Another problem commonly associated with conventional modular enclosures is that the framework thereof is often constructed with a closed design. Each frame section is designed such that its cross section defines an enclosed area, somewhat tubular in shape. By reason thereof, special connectors and adapters must be manufactured to join adjacent sections of frame, and to mount interior racks and accessories therein. Such a closed design also makes it extremely difficult to maintain and repaint the frame, when needed. An example of such a conventional enclosure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,319.
For the above reasons, there is a distinct need for an enclosure with easily removable sub-panel mounting boards that can be installed and repositioned with relative ease to minimize time and labor associated therewith. There is also a distinct need for an enclosure which is readily accessible to the interior, and which can be restructured solely from the exterior, without requiring removal of interior sub-panels and other interiorly mounted electrical components. Moreover, such an enclosure should have an open frame design with which conventional nuts and bolts may be used, without the need for special adapters.
With the above in mind, we have developed a multifaceted enclosure frame which solves each of the above described problems, and provides other benefits as well. We have developed a modular frame which comprises a plurality of frames sections that provide an integrally formed sub-panel guide system for simplified installation and proper positioning of sub-panels within the enclosure. Although some conventional enclosures are known to have sub-panel guide systems, none are integrally formed with the enclosure frame. As such, they require separate installation, which increases the time, cost and tediousness of manufacturing and assembling such enclosures.
The frame sections of our modular frame are also constructed to have identical cross-sections for ease of manufacturing and assembly, and provide for solely external mounting of all enclosure wall panels thereto. As an added feature, each frame section is designed such that, when assembled, an exterior flange trough is formed which prevents water from pooling up and deteriorating the enclosure seals.
All of the above features and benefits are accomplished via the assembly of a latticework of frame sections, each having an identical cross-section, and each being engineered with an open design that cooperatively mates with other frame sections at the corners of the frame where they are welded together, thereby eliminating the need for separate adapters to join such frame sections. The essence of the invention disclosed herein is the fact that all of the above benefits are incorporated into an integral enclosure frame section, which significantly reduces time and labor of assembly, and increases the use and accessibility of the interior space of the enclosure.